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On Friday November 29th 2012, a bomb placed at the back door of the Casa Grande U.S. Social Security Administration office shook the city’s downtown but failed to breach the building.[1][2] An Iraqi-born convicted felon, Abdullatif A. Aldosary, 47, is charged.[3][4] Evidence collect at his home shows he researched “terrorist bombs” and amassed appropriate materials.[5] Aldosary, allowed entry as a refugee, was denied a Green Card based on his “terrorism-related activities” as an insurgent fighting Saddam Hussein in 1991.[6] No motive has been suggested by authorities.[7] Aldosary was also charged with an unrelated murder that occurred two days before the bombing.[8]

Aldosary indicted for federal bombing

A federal grand jury in Phoenix returned a two count indictment against Abdullatif Ali Aldosary, 46, of Coolidge, for malicious damage to federal property by means of fire and explosives and felon in possession of a firearm.

The indictment alleges that Aldosary maliciously damaged by fire and explosives a building located in Casa Grande, Arizona, that was leased to the United States Social Security Administration. The indictment further alleges that Aldosary possessed a firearm after having previously been convicted of a felony offense in the Maricopa County Superior Court.

Authorities found documents explaining how to build a bomb hidden behind a picture in the search of Aldosary’s home in Coolidge. Authorities also seized a handgun and rifle as well as hundreds of rounds of ammunition and several gallons of chemicals that could be used to make a bomb, according to court documents.

Law enforcement officials said Aldosary had researched bomb-making materials and gathered chemicals before detonating a small explosive outside the Social Security Administration office in Casa Grande.

Arizona Congressman Paul Gosar, sent a letter to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services on Wednesday with questions about the immigration status of Aldosary.

Gosarwrote, “The alleged bomber, Abdullatif Aldosary, is an Iraqi refugee who was given the privilege to live in our country, but has apparently repaid our generosity and kindness with repeated violence and aggression. The FBI reports the use of a high explosive called ‘RDX’ that is often used in terrorist plots. It is my expectation that this case will be fully investigated and the full weight of law enforcement brought to bear. The recent bombing in Casa Grande reminds us that we have to all have a responsibility to be vigilant and to alert authorities of any threats in our communities.”

Aldosary contacted Gosar’s office requesting help in obtaining permanent residency last year. At the time, Gosar’s office contacted Homeland Security, which responded in a letter that Aldosary’s case had been put on hold “pursuant to the terrorism-related grounds of inadmissibility” under a section of the Immigration and Nationality Act.

It is unknown whether Aldosary has a temporary visa or has refugee status. Gosar wanted to know why an Iraqi native charged with detonating a homemade explosive device outside a federal building hadn’t been deported despite his criminal history and being denied citizenship. Gosar’s chief legal counsel, Thomas Van Flein, said Aldosary should have been deported promptly if he was denied citizenship due to terrorism-related activity.

According to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials, Aldosary was previously arrests on harassment charges and a probation violation in Maricopa County. Those offenses were not considered deportable offenses.

In the letter to DHS, Gosar’s counsel Van Flein wrote, “But for the grace of God, no one was injured in the bombing,” Van Flein wrote in the letter to Homeland Security. “It appears to the congressman that a known terrorist was allowed to travel freely in Arizona and was allegedly able to engage in terrorism more than a year after DHS had already determined he engaged in terrorism activity.”

Aldosary is scheduled to be arraigned in federal district court in Phoenix on December 11, 2012, at 10:30 a.m., before U.S. Magistrate Judge Steven P. Logan. He is being detained pending trial.

A conviction for malicious damage to federal property by means of fire and explosives carries a minimum penalty of 7 years and a maximum penalty of 40 years in federal prison, a $250,000 fine, or both. A conviction for felon in possession of a firearm carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in federal prison, a $250,000 fine, or both.

The investigation preceding the indictment was conducted by the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force, with investigative support from the ATF, the Federal Protective Service, the Office of the Inspector General-Social Security Administration, the Coolidge Police Department, the Casa Grande Police Department, and the Phoenix Police Department. The prosecution is being conducted by Assistant U.S. Attorney David A. Pimsner, District of Arizona, Phoenix.

MARICOPA, Ariz. — An Iraqi man charged with detonating a homemade explosive device outside a federal building in Arizona now faces additional charges, including first-degree murder in a killing just days before the bombing, authorities said Monday.

Abdullatif Ali Aldosary is charged with murder, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, and two firearms counts in the Nov. 27, 2012, killing of an employee at the Arizona Grain processing facility in Maricopa, about 35 miles south of Phoenix.

Orlando Requena, 26, was found dead from multiple gunshot wounds. He had worked for several years at the facility, where Aldosary also was employed for a time.

Authorities announced last week that Aldosary had been indicted on 18 state felony counts, including 14 attempted first-degree murder charges, arson and use of explosives in the Nov. 30 bombing outside a Social Security Administration building in Casa Grande, about 50 miles south of Phoenix. No one was injured in the blast. Prosecutors said the attempted murder charges stem from 14 employees who were inside the building at the time of the explosion.

Authorities say a search of Aldosary’s home turned up documents hidden behind a picture that explained how to build a bomb. Aldosary also sought information on how to create explosive material known as RDX, “considered one of the most powerful of the military high explosives,” according to the initial criminal complaint. “RDX is believed to have been used in many bomb plots, including terrorist plots.”

FBI Special Agent Douglas Price would not comment on whether the bombing was believed to have been terrorism-related. Authorities would not discuss a motive for the killing of Requena, described by relatives as a friendly man and a father of three sons with no known enemies.

“He was a good man and a good father,” said the victim’s aunt, Alberta Requena. “We were worried that somebody out there was coming to get us and our family. It’s a relief now not having to wonder if this was somebody that we knew.”

Authorities declined to discuss whether Requena’s killing and the bombing were connected, or if Aldosary worked alone or with others.

“Today is the beginning of the attempt to seek justice for the victims,” Pinal County Attorney Lando Voyles said at a news conference attended by Maricopa police, the victim’s relatives and officials from the FBI.

Abdullatif Aldosary — the Iraqi refugee accused of detonating an “explosive device” outside the Social Security Administration building in Casa Grande in November — was indicted yesterday on charges including murder, in a case apparently unrelated to the bombing.

New Times first reported in May that Aldosary was suspected of killing a man days before the bombing, although neither police nor the County Attorney’s Office would verify it, until Monday.

Orlando Requena, 26, was working the overnight shift at Arizona Grain in Maricopa on November 27 when a man in a ski mask approached him about 2:30 a.m. and shot him dead.

No arrest was made, and police in Maricopa were seeking the public’s help in solving the murder.

A week later, authorities raided the Coolidge home of Aldosary and arrested him for allegedly detonating an explosive device outside the Casa Grande Social Security Administration office a few days earlier, on November 30. No one was injured in the explosion, but debris landed more than 100 feet away from the spot of the detonation, and Aldosary even lit his own car on fire in the blast and drove off with his car ablaze, according to the federal complaint.

There was never any indication that the two events were related until we got word from the source. The source added that Aldosary had a temporary job at Arizona Grain.

According to media reports, Pinal County Attorney Lando Voyles didn’t discuss any details about the murder yesterday.

And, it’s still unclear whether the murder is related to the bombing in some way.

Although the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force investigated the bombing of a federal building, there has been no indication from the feds that the bombing was an act of terrorism.

However, the types of people who believe that all acts of violence committed by brown people with Middle Eastern-sounding names are acts of terrorism were claiming — without evidence, of course — that it was an act of terrorism.

Republican Congressman Paul Gosar has referred to Aldosary as a “known terrorist,” and asked federal officials why a “known terrorist” was allowed to live in his district — all this despite the fact that Gosar’s staff attempted to help Aldosary obtain a green card the year prior.

Aldosary came to the United States legally in 1997 from his home country of Iraq.

In 2008, he pleaded guilty to felony aggravated harassment charges. He was sentenced to two months in jail and three years of probation. But his probation was revoked a year later, and he was ordered to serve a year in prison.

Aldosary had sought help from U.S. Rep. Paul Gosar’s office in 2011 in obtaining permanent residency. Gosar has said he contacted Homeland Security, which responded in a letter that Aldosary’s case had been put on hold “pursuant to the terrorism-related grounds of inadmissibility” under a section of the Immigration and Nationality Act.

Authorities say he was denied a green card in 2008 because he fought with anti-government forces trying to overthrow Saddam Hussein in Basra, Iraq, in 1991.

Gosar’s office questioned why the man hadn’t been deported.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials said Aldosary’s previous arrests on harassment charges and a probation violation weren’t considered deportable offenses.

Four out of 5 U.S. adults struggle with joblessness, near-poverty or reliance on welfare for at least parts of their lives, a sign of deteriorating economic security and an elusive American dream.

Survey data exclusive to The Associated Press points to an increasingly globalized U.S. economy, the widening gap between rich and poor, and the loss of good-paying manufacturing jobs as reasons for the trend.

The findings come as President Barack Obama tries to renew his administration’s emphasis on the economy, saying in recent speeches that his highest priority is to “rebuild ladders of opportunity” and reverse income inequality.

As nonwhites approach a numerical majority in the U.S., one question is how public programs to lift the disadvantaged should be best focused — on the affirmative action that historically has tried to eliminate the racial barriers seen as the major impediment to economic equality, or simply on improving socioeconomic status for all, regardless of race.

Hardship is particularly growing among whites, based on several measures. Pessimism among that racial group about their families’ economic futures has climbed to the highest point since at least 1987. In the most recent AP-GfK poll, 63 percent of whites called the economy “poor.”

“I think it’s going to get worse,” said Irene Salyers, 52, of Buchanan County, Va., a declining coal region in Appalachia. Married and divorced three times, Salyers now helps run a fruit and vegetable stand with her boyfriend but it doesn’t generate much income. They live mostly off government disability checks.

“If you do try to go apply for a job, they’re not hiring people, and they’re not paying that much to even go to work,” she said. Children, she said, have “nothing better to do than to get on drugs.”

While racial and ethnic minorities are more likely to live in poverty, race disparities in the poverty rate have narrowed substantially since the 1970s, census data show. Economic insecurity among whites also is more pervasive than is shown in the government’s poverty data, engulfing more than 76 percent of white adults by the time they turn 60, according to a new economic gauge being published next year by the Oxford University Press.

The gauge defines “economic insecurity” as a year or more of periodic joblessness, reliance on government aid such as food stamps or income below 150 percent of the poverty line. Measured across all races, the risk of economic insecurity rises to 79 percent.

Marriage rates are in decline across all races, and the number of white mother-headed households living in poverty has risen to the level of black ones.

“It’s time that America comes to understand that many of the nation’s biggest disparities, from education and life expectancy to poverty, are increasingly due to economic class position,” said William Julius Wilson, a Harvard professor who specializes in race and poverty. He noted that despite continuing economic difficulties, minorities have more optimism about the future after Obama’s election, while struggling whites do not.

“There is the real possibility that white alienation will increase if steps are not taken to highlight and address inequality on a broad front,” Wilson said.

Nationwide, the count of America’s poor remains stuck at a record number: 46.2 million, or 15 percent of the population, due in part to lingering high unemployment following the recession. While poverty rates for blacks and Hispanics are nearly three times higher, by absolute numbers the predominant face of the poor is white.

More than 19 million whites fall below the poverty line of $23,021 for a family of four, accounting for more than 41 percent of the nation’s destitute, nearly double the number of poor blacks.

Sometimes termed “the invisible poor” by demographers, lower-income whites generally are dispersed in suburbs as well as small rural towns, where more than 60 percent of the poor are white. Concentrated in Appalachia in the East, they are numerous in the industrial Midwest and spread across America’s heartland, from Missouri, Arkansas and Oklahoma up through the Great Plains.

Buchanan County, in southwest Virginia, is among the nation’s most destitute based on median income, with poverty hovering at 24 percent. The county is mostly white, as are 99 percent of its poor.

More than 90 percent of Buchanan County’s inhabitants are working-class whites who lack a college degree. Higher education long has been seen there as nonessential to land a job because well-paying mining and related jobs were once in plentiful supply. These days many residents get by on odd jobs and government checks.

Salyers’ daughter, Renee Adams, 28, who grew up in the region, has two children. A jobless single mother, she relies on her live-in boyfriend’s disability checks to get by. Salyers says it was tough raising her own children as it is for her daughter now, and doesn’t even try to speculate what awaits her grandchildren, ages 4 and 5.

Smoking a cigarette in front of the produce stand, Adams later expresses a wish that employers will look past her conviction a few years ago for distributing prescription painkillers, so she can get a job and have money to “buy the kids everything they need.”

“It’s pretty hard,” she said. “Once the bills are paid, we might have $10 to our name.”

Census figures provide an official measure of poverty, but they’re only a temporary snapshot that doesn’t capture the makeup of those who cycle in and out of poverty at different points in their lives. They may be suburbanites, for example, or the working poor or the laid off.

In 2011 that snapshot showed 12.6 percent of adults in their prime working-age years of 25-60 lived in poverty. But measured in terms of a person’s lifetime risk, a much higher number — 4 in 10 adults — falls into poverty for at least a year of their lives.

The risks of poverty also have been increasing in recent decades, particularly among people ages 35-55, coinciding with widening income inequality. For instance, people ages 35-45 had a 17 percent risk of encountering poverty during the 1969-1989 time period; that risk increased to 23 percent during the 1989-2009 period. For those ages 45-55, the risk of poverty jumped from 11.8 percent to 17.7 percent.

Higher recent rates of unemployment mean the lifetime risk of experiencing economic insecurity now runs even higher: 79 percent, or 4 in 5 adults, by the time they turn 60.

By race, nonwhites still have a higher risk of being economically insecure, at 90 percent. But compared with the official poverty rate, some of the biggest jumps under the newer measure are among whites, with more than 76 percent enduring periods of joblessness, life on welfare or near-poverty.

By 2030, based on the current trend of widening income inequality, close to 85 percent of all working-age adults in the U.S. will experience bouts of economic insecurity.

“Poverty is no longer an issue of ‘them’, it’s an issue of ‘us’,” says Mark Rank, a professor at Washington University in St. Louis who calculated the numbers. “Only when poverty is thought of as a mainstream event, rather than a fringe experience that just affects blacks and Hispanics, can we really begin to build broader support for programs that lift people in need.”

The numbers come from Rank’s analysis being published by the Oxford University Press. They are supplemented with interviews and figures provided to the AP by Tom Hirschl, a professor at Cornell University; John Iceland, a sociology professor at Penn State University; the University of New Hampshire’s Carsey Institute; the Census Bureau; and the Population Reference Bureau.

Among the findings:

–For the first time since 1975, the number of white single-mother households living in poverty with children surpassed or equaled black ones in the past decade, spurred by job losses and faster rates of out-of-wedlock births among whites. White single-mother families in poverty stood at nearly 1.5 million in 2011, comparable to the number for blacks. Hispanic single-mother families in poverty trailed at 1.2 million.

–Since 2000, the poverty rate among working-class whites has grown faster than among working-class nonwhites, rising 3 percentage points to 11 percent as the recession took a bigger toll among lower-wage workers. Still, poverty among working-class nonwhites remains higher, at 23 percent.

–The share of children living in high-poverty neighborhoods — those with poverty rates of 30 percent or more — has increased to 1 in 10, putting them at higher risk of teenage pregnancy or dropping out of school. Non-Hispanic whites accounted for 17 percent of the child population in such neighborhoods, compared with 13 percent in 2000, even though the overall proportion of white children in the U.S. has been declining.

The share of black children in high-poverty neighborhoods dropped from 43 percent to 37 percent, while the share of Latino children went from 38 percent to 39 percent.

–Race disparities in health and education have narrowed generally since the 1960s. While residential segregation remains high, a typical black person now lives in a nonmajority black neighborhood for the first time. Previous studies have shown that wealth is a greater predictor of standardized test scores than race; the test-score gap between rich and low-income students is now nearly double the gap between blacks and whites.

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Going back to the 1980s, never have whites been so pessimistic about their futures, according to the General Social Survey, a biannual survey conducted by NORC at the University of Chicago. Just 45 percent say their family will have a good chance of improving their economic position based on the way things are in America.

The divide is especially evident among those whites who self-identify as working class. Forty-nine percent say they think their children will do better than them, compared with 67 percent of nonwhites who consider themselves working class, even though the economic plight of minorities tends to be worse.

Although they are a shrinking group, working-class whites — defined as those lacking a college degree — remain the biggest demographic bloc of the working-age population. In 2012, Election Day exit polls conducted for the AP and the television networks showed working-class whites made up 36 percent of the electorate, even with a notable drop in white voter turnout.

Last November, Obama won the votes of just 36 percent of those noncollege whites, the worst performance of any Democratic nominee among that group since Republican Ronald Reagan’s 1984 landslide victory over Walter Mondale.

Some Democratic analysts have urged renewed efforts to bring working-class whites into the political fold, calling them a potential “decisive swing voter group” if minority and youth turnout level off in future elections. “In 2016 GOP messaging will be far more focused on expressing concern for ‘the middle class’ and ‘average Americans,'” Andrew Levison and Ruy Teixeira wrote recently in The New Republic.

“They don’t trust big government, but it doesn’t mean they want no government,” says Republican pollster Ed Goeas, who agrees that working-class whites will remain an important electoral group. His research found that many of them would support anti-poverty programs if focused broadly on job training and infrastructure investment. This past week, Obama pledged anew to help manufacturers bring jobs back to America and to create jobs in the energy sectors of wind, solar and natural gas.

“They feel that politicians are giving attention to other people and not them,” Goeas said.

Civil unrest is beginning to hit US streets following the acquittal of George Zimmerman, with demonstrators smashing windows, attacking police cars, overturning dumpsters and setting fires in downtown Oakland.

One police car was daubed with the words “Kill Pigz” as American flags were torched.

Following a wave of threats to riot in major cities if Zimmerman was cleared of all charges, trouble flared up almost immediately after the verdict was announced late last night.

Unrest appears to be confined to Oakland for the time being, with more peaceful protests taking place in San Francisco, Washington, DC, New York and Chicago.

A liberal group, “Respect Arizona” failed in its effort to recall popular Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio, Thursday, but a voter group represented by Larry Klayman, is still suing Respect Arizona because he says the recall effort was illegal under Arizona law to begin with.Here is the press release from Klayman’s group, Citizens to Protect Fair Election Results:

Today, predictably, the attempted recall of Sheriff Joe Arpaio by a group which ironically calls itself Respect Arizona, failed in its bid to begin a recall of this respected law enforcement official, who has just been reelected to office for a sixth term. While admitting that they did not get the required number of signatures to begin a recall, obviously because the people of Maricopa County are happy to have Sheriff Arpaio remain in office, the Respect Arizona spokesmen failed to mention that their attempted recall was illegal in any event, as not proscribed by the Arizona Constitution at Article 8, part 1, section 5, which prohibits a recall within six months after an elected official is sworn in. In this regard, the lawsuit filed by attorney Larry Klayman on behalf of the voters of Maricopa County, through his client, the Citizens to Protect Fair Election Results, is set for hearing on June 25, 2013 at 1:30 pm before Judge Michael Herrod.

“Despite Respect Arizona’s miserable failure to get the requisite number of signatures needed to conduct an illegal recall, prohibited by the Arizona Constitution, we maintain that the case must still be decided on the merits, as this abuse of process is capable of repetitive acts – that is other elected officials, including judges, could be subject to similar improper schemes to thwart the will of the voting public and nullify their votes. Moreover, the use of a premature and illegal recall effort to raise funds for an organization such as Respect Arizona, defrauds donors to the recall effort and wastes valuable county and state resources. It is thus no wonder that Respect Arizona has refused to make public the signatures which it claims to have collected, as they were procured under false pretenses,” stated Klayman.

“The case against Respect Arizona and the county agencies which allowed this illegal attempted recall to go forward is thus proceeding in court, as this illegal conduct cannot be allowed to happen in the future. We need a ruling by the court upholding the Arizona Constitution, to protect the voters of this great state and elected officials and judges who won their elections fair and square,” added Klayman.

The ranks of the world’s billionaires, as monitored and tallied by our global wealth team, have yet again reached all-time highs. The 2013 Forbes Billionaires list now boasts 1,426 names, with an aggregate net worth of $5.4 trillion, up from $4.6 trillion. We found 210 new ten-figure fortunes. Once again the U.S. leads the list with 442 billionaires, followed by Asia-Pacific (386), Europe (366), the Americas (129) and the Middle East & Africa (103).

Resurgent asset prices are the driving force behind the rising wealth of the super-rich around the globe. While last year almost as many fortunes fell as rose, this year gainers outnumbered losers by 4-to-1. Many new names made the list thanks to free-spending consumers. To name a few: Diesel jeans mogul Renzo Rosso at $3 billion, retailer Bruce Nordstrom at $1.2 billion and designer Tory Burch at $1 billion.

Carlos Slim is once again the world’s richest person, followed by Bill Gates. Amancio Ortega of Spanish retailer Zara moves up to No. 3 for the first time. He is the year’s biggest gainer, adding $19.5 billion to his fortune in one year. He moves ahead of Warren Buffett, despite the fact that the U.S. investing legend added $9.5 billion to his fortune. This is the first year since 2000 that Buffett has not been among the top 3. The year’s biggest loser is Brazilian Eike Batista, whose fortune dropped by $19.4 billion, or equivalent to about $50 million a day. His rank falls from no. 7 to no. 100 in the world.

Existing Reset Line Available to Service Vehicles Returning from Deployment

LISLE, Ill., March 15, 2012 /PRNewswire/ — Navistar Defense, LLC received an award to conduct the installation work associated with its January order to upgrade 2,717 International® MaxxPro® Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicles with a new vehicle chassis. The $21 million contract from the U.S. Army Contracting Command is just one of Navistar’s many reset offerings aimed at revitalizing existing defense assets for future missions.

“We are focused on increasing the capabilities of our existing fleet with minimal impact to defense funding,” said Archie Massicotte, president, Navistar Defense. “The vehicle reset line we established for this installation work can also be utilized to restore older vehicles to like-new condition. Therefore, we are poised and ready to reset vehicles returning from deployment – either here at our facility or overseas.”

The installation contract retrofits vintage MaxxPro vehicles with a new rolling chassis. This chassis enhancement includes the addition of the DXM™ independent suspension, a MaxxForce® 9.3 engine, 570 amp alternator and driveline, while leaving a residual chassis with a beam axle that can be reused. The retrofits will be conducted in West Point, Miss., and work is expected to be completed by the end of May 2012.

“Keeping constricting budgets in mind, we continue to anticipate tomorrow’s needs and develop new solutions to use existing assets,” said Massicotte. “In addition to being ready for reset work, we already have options available that reuse the leftover chassis from this body-swap.”

Should the government be interested in reusing its remaining vehicle chassis, Navistar can add an armored cab to the chassis or return the vehicle to a commercial flatbed truck by adding a standard commercial cab for roughly a third of the cost of a new vehicle. Additional variants that can be produced on this building-block model include a recovery vehicle and a utility truck with an integrated capability for exportable power generation.

The company has fielded nearly 9,000 MaxxPro vehicles and continues to anticipate needed vehicle capabilities, enhancements, reset and reuse options for its entire fleet of 32,000 vehicles.

Navistar International Corporation (NYSE: NAV) is a holding company whose subsidiaries and affiliates produce International® brand commercial and military trucks, MaxxForce® brand diesel engines, IC Bus™ brand school and commercial buses, Monaco® RV brands of recreational vehicles, and Workhorse® brand chassis for motor homes and step vans. It also is a private-label designer and manufacturer of diesel engines for the pickup truck, van and SUV markets. The company also provides truck and diesel engine service parts. Another affiliate offers financing services. Additional information is available at www.Navistar.com/newsroom.